Crossing-signal for railways.



No. 764,588. f PATENTBD JULY 12. w04.

' C. R, HILL.

CROSSING SIGNAL PDR RAILWAYS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG' 112, 19014 NO MODEL. .2, HBETS-S'l.' ,1:

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NQ. ?64,68a., l PATLNTLD JULY 12, 1904. o. vR. HILL. OBGSSING SIGNAL FORRAILWAYS.

`APLLXOA'IICIN FILED AUG. 12. 1901. HQ 14012515-, L 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2fWITNESSES:

Patented July 12, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

lCHARLES R. HILL, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

CROSSING-SIGNAL FOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 764,588, dated July 12,1904.

Application filed August 12, 1901. Serial No. 71,742. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. HILL, a citi- Zen of the United States,residing at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Crossing-Signals forRailways; and I do declare the following to he a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the ligures of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a device for giving at railway-crossings anaudible signal of the approach of railway-trains; and its object is toprovide a device which shall be reliable, cheap, simple, and strong,which will not easily get out of repair, and which shall sound a signalonly at the approach of trains and not when the train recedes. .I attainthese objects by means of the devices and arrangement of partshereinafter described and shown, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in whichMw Figure 1 is an elevation of my device in transversesection, taken on line m, Fig. Q; Fig. 2, a top plan view of the same;Fig. 3, a side elevation of the same on a reduced scale; Fig. 4, acentral longitudinal vertical4 sectional elevation of the casehereinafter referred to with its interior mechanism removed; and Fig. 5,a vertical transverse section on line fr, Fig. 4.

Like numerals of reference represent like parts throughout the drawings.

In the drawings, 1 is a case having atop, bottom, and one side, theremaining side being' formed by the inner side of the track-rail, towhich the case is secured. The bottom of the case at its open side isprovided with a projecting tongue 2, which is turned upwardly andbackwardly, as at 3, forming a hook which engages the outer bottomfiange of the track-rail. Through the opposite flange of the rail andthrough the tongue 2 vpasses a screw-bolt 4, which, in conjunction withthe hook 3, rigidly secures the box or case in place.

5 is a shoe the top of which rests normally a little below the level ofthe top of the trackrail. One side of the shoerests near the inner sideof the top of the rail. The shoe at its end next the crossing is curvedor inclined away from the rail, as at 5, and at its opposite end iscurved or inclined downwardly, as at 5b. From the under side of the shoeprojects downwardly a stem 6, which passes through a slot 7 in the topof the case 1.

8 is a tubular spring-case through which the stem 6 passes axially.

9 is a coiled spring resting on the bottom of the spring-case and at topengaging the stem. An arm 10, projecting horizontally from the shoe,carries at its outer extremity a downwardly -projecting stem 11, whichpasses through the slot 7 and carries at its lower end a plunger whichmoves in a dash-pot 12, which is disposed by the side of and is securedto the spring-case 8. This dash-pot is of ordinary construction and isdesigned to permit the quick downward movement of its plunger, but toretard its upward or return movement. At opposite sides of thespring-ease are projecting lugs 8, which are mounted and jour naled inthe sides of the case 1, forming a pivot upon which the spring-case andthe dash-pot n 12 swing in a vertical plane.

13 is a spring connected at one end with the rail or case and at itsother end to the side of the spring-case 8 in such manner that thestress of the spring is toward the track-rail. Opposed to the stress ofthe spring 13 is a dash-pot 14, pivotally connected,.as at 15, to theside of the case, the stem of which, 16, is connected, as at 17, withthe dash-pot 12.

The stem 6 extends downwardly through the bottom of the spring-case 8and is in vcrtical alinement with a push-button 18, which is providedwith a make-and-break device, in the electric circuit of which is analarm-bell adapted and arranged to ring whenever the circuit is closed.The electric and bell ringing apparatuses are not shown in the drawingsor further referred to here, as they will be fully understood withoutillustration and as they form no part of this invention.

The operation of my device is as follows: Assume that the parts areassembled and securedv in place, as above described, one alarm device ateach side of the crossing. Now the fianges of the wheels of' anapproaching train will strike the downwardly curved or inclined portion5" of the shoe 5 and, overcoming the resistance of the spring 9l and thedash-pot 12, will force the shoe directly downward, projecting the stem6 into contact with the push-button 18, thus closing circuit andsounding the alarm. As the first wheel passes away from the shoe theshoe is by the dash-pot 12 restrained -from returning suddenly to itsoriginal position by the spring 9. rIhe shoe rises so slowly that it isagain depressed by the next succeeding wheel before the circuit isbroken, and thus the alarm is sounded continuously while the train ispassing in the direction of the crossing'. Upon reaching the alarmmechanism at the opposite of the crossing as the train recedes theflanges of the wheels enter between the rail and the outwardly-curvedportion of' the shoe 5, and by the wedge-like action of the wheelpressing against the inclined inner surface of the shoe this part istilted outwardly on its pivot 8L without being depressed and withoutclosing the circuit. The spring 13 tends to restore the shoe to itsnormal position after the passage of' each wheel; but the dash-pot 14restrains the inner swing of' the parts 8 and 12, the inward movement ofwhich is so slow that a slight outward pressure of each passing wheelwill hold the shoe away from the trackrail until the retreating trainhas passed by.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s-

1. A railway-crossing signal comprising a shoe, inclined downwardly atone end and outwardly at the other end and disposed by the side of atrack-rail in the path of the carwheel fianges, spring-supports whichpermit said shoe to move vertically and horizontally, means f'oropposing said springs and which retard'the reverse movements of saidshoe, and means controlled by the movement of said shoe' for actuatingsuitable alarm mechanisms.

2. In a railway-crossing signal, a case consisting of' a top, bottom,ends and one side, the open side being adapted to engage the side of atrack-rail as a closure for the opening, and means for clamping the caseto the track-rail, combined with a shoe disposed in the path of thecar-wheel flanges, said shoe being inclined outwardly at its end nextthe crossing and being inclined downwardly at its opposite end, pivotalconnections between the shoe and the case which permit the shoe to swinghorizontally toward and away from the trackrail, a spring which holdssaid shoe normally toward the rail, a spring-support which holds theshoe normally elevated, and means for retarding the return of the shoefrom its depressed position and from its movements toward the rail.

In testimony whereof' I afx my signature in presence of' two witnesses.

CHARLES R. HILL.

Witnesses:

M. D. MERRICK, L. E. BROWN.

